St. Paul 'porch pirate' writes: Thank you for letting me steal your package

In an era of emails, texts and other impersonal communications, a handwritten thank-you note stands out as a mark of grace and civility — most of the time.

St. Paul cops did not see anything civil or gracious about the “thank-you” note a crook left recently after stealing a package off someone’s porch.

Police on Friday said a woman on the 800 block of Watson Avenue in St. Paul was notified that a package had been delivered. “When she got home from work at about 5 p.m., the package was missing, replaced with a thank you note from the porch pirate.”

The department says it’s doing all it can to catch porch pirates, including using bait packages. In light of the “thank-you” note, authorities implored residents to do more to make the thefts not so easy.

That includes requiring a signature for delivery, having a package delivered to your workplace or to a trusted neighbor who’s home, or using an app to set up a safer delivery.

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